1. Capital Punishment - Execution as a Last Resort
The deathpenalty hashistorically beenseenasthe realisationof one of twoextremes: the ultimate
tool of justice against the mostunholyof offenders, andretribution forthe victimsof theircrimes;or
a barbaric and draconian wayof disposingof those considered'lostsouls'bysociety,aswell asthe
judicial system.Those whosubscribe tothe latterviewpointtendtocondemnthe apparent'laziness'
that the practice reflects.Ratherthantry to rehabilitateone whohaslosttheirway,the state isfar
more willingtoreduce themtoanotherstatistic,tosweeptheirexistence underthe rug, to be
uncoveredinfuture yearsbystudentswithamorbidcuriosityforthe macabre.
Those whoare more inclinedtoagree withthe formerperspective wouldobviouslytake issuewith
the pointsjustraised.Intheireyes,itisnota case of refusingtohelpthose whocouldyetbe
enrichingandvaluable assetstosocietyaswell asotherindividuals, butratheracase of gettingrid
of a dangerousthreattothose verypeople.Fromthisstance,these criminalsare fullydeservingof
theirfate.Due to the fact that manyof those thatfavourthe deathpenalty - ratherironically,
perhaps - are religious,theirsupport forthe practice isfuelledin mostcasesbythe beliefthatthe
soul of the perpetratorisalreadydoomedtospendeternityinHell asaresultof theiractions.All
that capital punishmentdoesistohelpthemalongtheirway.
Whentacklinga subject asprovocative asthis,it isimportanttoconsidera wide range of arguments
fromall relevantmoral andsociological pointsof view,howeverbenighted somemayseem.WhatI
alsowishto do isto assessthe factsof the matter,to presentanobjective way of lookingata
debate whichisall toooftenlostinthe blaze of vitriolictenniswhichensuesbetweenthe two
opposingcampsof opinion.Byapproachingthe subject empirically,Ihope toshow a clear
progressionof thoughtfromthe undeniable truthsof the issue,tomypersonal standpoint,whichis
that capital punishmentshouldonlybe seenasthe final option;the BigRedButtonto be pressed
whenthere isnomore hope fora person.For inmy opinion,there are those whosimplywill never
cease to be a seriousthreattoour welfare.However,thiscanonlybe concludedafterasincere
efforttorehabilitate.
To attemptto pinpointthe provenance of capital punishmentwouldseem like afutileendeavour,
and inmany waysirrelevant,asithasbeena fixture of humansocietyforessentiallythe whole of
recordedhistory.However,inthe interestof reportingthe facts,itisimportantto ask why thishas
beenthe case. In the daysof the unknown,where everyothernatural occurrence wasthoughtto be
causedby malevolentspirits,terminatingthe host of said‘spirit’ wasseenasthe onlyviable option.
Thisline of thinkingcanbe seen manifestedinsucharchaiccustomsas witchburning,andeven
some modernpractices,manyof whichcan still be seentodayintribal regionsof Africa,forexample.
It isupon reachingthisrealmof the supernatural thatwe encounterourfirstbarrieragainstbeing
totallyobjective.The realmof the supernatural,indeed,standsentirelyopposedtothe logical space
of nature inwhichthe knownscientificlawsare currentlybelieved toexist,andsoto attempta
purelyobjectiveanalysisof supernaturalreasonsforexecutionwouldprove tobe tricky,atbest.But,
as withall concepts,the ideaof the supernatural canbe tracedback to the human mind,and,as
aforementioned,the mysteryof the unknown.Traditional humanreactiontothe unknownhas
alwaysbeenfear,andfearprovokesusto behave recklessly andirrationally.Thereforeitishardly

2. surprisingthatin ostensibly more primitive societies (atleastfromaWesternpointof view),
reactionto the unknownhasresultedinthe murderof millionsoverthe years.
However,fearof supernatural forcesisof course notthe onlyreasonfor execution thatsocieties
have seen.Anythingfromseriouscrime tomerelyholdingthe wrongopinionorbelief hasprovedto
be tantamountto a deathsentence inthe past.The one aspect inall instancesof executionthathas
seemedtostayconsistentoverthe yearshasbeena strongbackingof religion,andthiscanbe seen
mostprominentlyinthe murderof Protestantsunderthe reignof QueenMaryduringthe British
Reformation.Itwasn'teven fortheirabsence of faith thattheywere condemned,butmerelythe
fact that theyworshippedtheirgodina waythat was seenasunacceptable bythose incharge.In
anotherironictwist,these actswere mostlikelyprovokedbyaneedto appease aone true Deity,
namelythe Godof the Bible,andmore specificallythe 'blood-and-thunder'Godof the Old
Testament. So,eventhoughthe directreasonsforthe deathof mostwere entirelytodowith
actionsand decisionsbasedontheirownrational thoughts,the motivation fortheirmurderhas
mostoftenbeenlinkedtoahigherbeing,one whichstrikesthe fearof the unknownintohuman
hearts.
Yet,as the yearspassed,the practice of capital punishmentbegantodecline.This,manybelieve,can
mainlybe putdownto the evolutionof moral philosophy,andeventhe belatedrecognitionof
teachingsbyPlatoand Aristotle,whospokeof social harmonyand 'eudaimonia',whichequates to
humanand societal flourishing.Philosophywasthe leadingschool of thoughtfora time throughout
the 15th to 17th centuries,andasa resultthe ideaof moral progressiontookhold,anideawhich
impliesthathumanshave aduty to strive forthe ultimate moral good.Thiswassupportedby
thinkerssuchas Immanuel Kantinthe 18th century,and the repercussionsof suchaposition
contributedtoa seismicshiftinthe waythatthe conceptsof justice andhumanitywere viewed
amongstthe commonpeople,aswell asthe rulingelite. Once thisshifthadseeneffectstake place in
the justice system,predominantlyinEurope - amove away fromthe deathpenaltybeingone - the
ethosof moral progressionensuredthatitwouldbe veryunlikelythatthe countrieswhichhad made
the change wouldgo retrace theirfootsteps.Afterall,where isthe progressinrevertingtoapractice
that has since beenlabelledaslargelyimmoral?
Althoughthisdeparture wasn'tasprevalentinAmericaasinEurope,the comingdecadeswouldsee
a gradual acceptance of and conversionto the new European method. The USA is now at a point
where the deathpenaltyisgovernedonastate-to-statebasis.InAfrica,the practice isstill
depressinglycommon,andoften carriedoutinananarchic, vigilante style, all toofrequentlyas
punishmentfornatural waysof being,suchashomosexuality.Itisfairtosay that Africanevertruly
welcomed Westernmoral progression.
Personally,thisparticularideahasalwaysseemedrathermisguided.Itattemptstoassignveridical,
non-humanvalue toanideawhichwasformulatedbya humanmind,or rathera collectionof
humanminds. Accordingtosome philosophical theoriesof relativism, moralityexistsonlywithinthe
humansphere (thisisincidentallyanideawhichIfullyendorse),andsotosuggestthat there isan
objective moral goodwouldbe tosuggestthatwe have,ineffect,imaginedsomethingintotangible
existence.The absurdityof thisnotioniscompoundedwhenwe considerhow moralitycouldonly
everbe an abstract concept.Of course,if everyhumanholdsthe same ideaof whatmoralityis,then
some case couldbe made for claimingthat the concepthas achievedasortof defaultobjectivityby

3. virtue of a worldwide harmonyof definition,butthisisnotthe case.The aforementionedexampleof
inter-continental differencesinthe acceptabilityof capital punishment istestamenttothis. Thisis
not to saythat an albeitmisguidedidealhasnotgivenrise tolaudable action,whichIbelievethe
massive depletionincapital punishmentis. WhatI don'tnecessarilypromote isthe reluctance to
unearthelementsof pastidealsthathave been condemnedlikesomanyancientcriminals,forsome
of these elementsare onesthatcan still serve auseful andprogressivepurpose,evenif theywere
consideredtobe outdatedor insome cases barbaric.
The botchedexecutionof ClaytonLockettinOklahomaon April 29th
2014 inevitablyrousedthe
dormantpolemicsfrombothsides,one pointraisedbeingthe methodof executionemployed. In
thiscase,a lethal injectionwasused.Accordingtoreports,Lockett'writhedandgroaned'for43
minutesbefore he wasdeclareddead.Eventothe staunchestpro-deathindividual,thisseems
somewhatinhumane.Giventhatmoral progressionisverymucha fixture of everydaymodern
mentality –subconsciousornot - thislatestimbrogliohasaddedfurtherfuel tothe flamesof the
'anti-death'arguments(anincendiary moniker,andone of whichthe ‘pro-‘formdoesnofavoursto
the positionof those infavourof capital punishment).However,an arguablymore shocking example
I believeexistswhichlendssupportforthe oppositecamp.
In 2011, AndersBreivikcarriedouta seriesof bombingsandshootingswhich resultedinthe deaths
of 77 people - the vastmajorityof whomwere youngmembersof alocal political group - and at
least319 non-fatal injuries.The attackstookplace inOsloand Utøya,Norway.Theywere politically
motivated,andforhisactions,Breivikreceived21yearspreventative detention. Afterbeinggiven
hissentence,he claimedthathe didnotrecognise the legitimacyof the rulingcourt,andyetcannot
appeal,asby doingthishe wouldbe tacitlyrecognisingitslegitimacy.These were muddledand
belligerentobjectionsfromaremorselessmind.He wasmostrecentlyinthe newsforcomplaining
that the choice of videogamesavailable tohiminjail was'notinterestingenough',andthreatening
to go on hungerstrike.The deathpenaltydoesnotexistasa methodof punishmentinNorway,and
if it did,Breivikwouldsurelynolongerbe onthe earthand capable of insultingthe familiesof his
victims,andthose whomhe injured,bykickingupafussoversuch trivialities.Instead,he isable to
live hislife, unlike those whose liveshe haspermanentlydestroyed,inrelative comfort.Here isa
man whoisso staunch inhisbeliefsandjustificationsfor hisactions,andwhose lackof anything
resemblingamoral compassis so blindinglyobvious,thatitcan be confidentlyassumedthatno
amountof rehabilitationwouldbe sufficienttoallow himtore-entersocietyasaharmlessand
productive citizen.Andevenif,somehow, incredibly,thiswasachieved,itwouldbe abrave man
whowouldbetagainst Breivik's lifebeingtaken bya vengefulindividual seekingthatultimate tool of
justice, one thatinthiscase has beendenied.
Many may take umbrage withmyassumptionthatBreivikisbeyondrehabilitation,wouldclaimthat
it isimpossible forme to knowthis,andthat we wouldbe committingagrave failure if we were to
laysomeone towaste withoutanyattempttorehabilitate them. Essentially,theywouldbe correct
whensayingthatit isimpossibleforme toknow this,butif we wishtoopena philosophical
discussiononprobabilityandknowledge,itwouldinvolve analysisof mattersthatwould certainly
drownout the issue currentlyinquestion. Whatitis importanttorealise isthatthroughhisactions
and hissubsequentreactions,Breivikhascreatedanunbreakablebarrierbetweenhimandthe
outside world.He has willinglyalienatedhimself fromanynotionsof moralityandgoodness,
reachinga place wherebyhe couldclinicallyperformthose atrocities,notmerelybecausehe didn't

4. thinkitwas the wrongthingto do, butbecause he activelybelievedthatitwasthe right thingto do.
Whensomeone hasreachedthatstate of complete amorality,andhasclearlymade a comfortable
home forthemselvesinthatstate,itis almostcertainlyuselesstoattempttolure them backintoa
worldwhere theywill be foreverhatedandattacked.Inthissense,Iamalmosttemptedtoagree
withsome religious believers,inthatthe bestthingto do,is to helpanalreadydoomedsoul onits
wayto death.
The presentationof onlyone concrete example tosupportmycase may seemwoefullyinsufficient
at first,but itin factreinforces mystandpoint:capital punishmentshouldonlybe usedinthe rarest
of circumstances;reservedforthose totallybeyondthe pale,andout of reachof any kindof positive
humaninterference.AndersBreivikisone of these people,perhapsthe onlyone whohasexisted
and will existfora long,long,time.Butthere undoubtedlyhave beenandwill be more,forwhom
the onlyfittingpunishment istobe dealtwithascoldlyandmercilesslyastheyhave behaved
towardsothers.For whendealingwithpeople whohold nosense of humangoodness,itbecomesno
longera questionof moralityor righteousness, butaquestion of factand necessity.The factis:they
have committedactsthat have endedorimpoverishedthe livesof countlessindividuals,andare
incapable of showingremorse forthese acts.The necessity:theymustbe removedfromliving
existence.